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2012 Hogan Award finalists announced

ORLANDO, Fla. - Golfweek and Baird Private Wealth Management announced that a trio of young collegiate stars have been named finalists for the prestigious 2012 Hogan Award.

UCLA's Patrick Cantlay, Texas' Jordan Spieth and Stanford's Patrick Rodgers will vie for the award at the annual banquet set for May 21 at 8 p.m. EDT. Golfweek will broadcast the award show live on Golfweek.com, complete with player and coach interviews.

The 2012 class is the youngest in the award's 11-year history. Spieth and Rodgers are entering the final weeks of their freshman campaign, and Cantlay is a sophomore. Before this year, only two freshmen (Cantlay and Oklahoma State's Rickie Fowler, in 2008) had been finalists.

Here are some quick nuggets about each finalist:

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Patrick Cantlay, sophomore, UCLA

While Cantlay picked up no wins in the 2011-12 collegiate regular season, his low-amateur status at the Masters and U.S. Open, as well as top-25 finishes in four PGA Tour stops in the past year, earned a spot in the final three for the second straight year. Cantlay is No. 9 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings.

Jordan Spieth, freshman, Texas

Spieth took little time to get acclimated to the college game, picking up three wins in the 2011-12 season en route to being named Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Spieth, the 2009 and '11 U.S. Junior champion, joins Tiger Woods as the only two-time winners. Spieth is No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.

From the archives: Cameron McCormick won’t let Jordan Spieth watch video of Spieth’s old swing. It’s a way to block out the bad memories. Spieth’s swing has changed in myriad ways since he and McCormick began working together in 2006. Check out our For Your Game session with Spieth.

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Patrick Rodgers, freshman, Stanford

Rodgers is the first Cardinal player to make the cut as a finalist for the Hogan Award. Rodgers won two events as a freshman, coming after a summer in which he was a standout for the U.S. Walker Cup team and won the Porter Cup. Rodgers is No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarins.

From the archives: Our Ryan Lavner visited with Rodger prior to his freshman campaign, talking to Rodgers about his breakout summer and being a part of a fab freshman class. Read the story here.

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Tracy Wilcox
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